Lights, Camera, Action!

We've been meaning to get the outside lights up for some time now, and today ended up dry and with a little morsel of time to do it!  Hooray!

The ladder we have is only three steps high.  Still - I needed to get ON that roof.  Just Amelia, Andrew, and I were at home, so I looked at Andrew and said, "Throw all your body weight on this ladder and DON'T. LET. IT. MOVE."  I climbed up and then tippy toed quick on the top you-should-never-use-this-as-a-step rung and shot myself up on the roof.  The exhilaration I felt when I realized I was not dead or broken was fantastic.

I got all the clips on and then needed to help the kids unravel all the lights.  Umm...this meant I needed to get down.  Andrew said jump.
Me: "Uh, that's a lot of weight flying at the ground, buddy."
  Andy: "Oh yeah, and you have bad knees."
Me: "And a bad ankle."
I sat.  For awhile.
I  pictured stunt men and thought about tucking and rolling.
Seriously.
Then I laughed at myself.
If you know me well - you know I am uncoordinated.  In high school I accidentally gave a guy a bloody nose as he attempted to flip me over his shoulder.

I eyed the unstable 1 inch wide top of that ladder about 5 feet below the rim of the roof.  Again I said, "Throw all your body weight on that ladder Andrew.....you too, Millie!"
It was crazy.  It was stupid.
I made it down.

Andrew became the roof man.  After I made it down he told me that he gets up on the roof by climbing the tree on the side of our house.  He was up in like 15 seconds waving to me from the crest of the roof.  He did a great job and it was a lot of fun to work together.

Millie spent her time dutifully tangling all the lights as fast as I could untangle them, and once we finished it Andrew ran to plug them in.  He did so ceremoniously and.......one whole strand didn't work.  Instead of crying, we laughed.  It really seemed ridiculously funny.

So maybe we'll redo it on Monday, or maybe not.  Maybe this year I will just look at half my house lit up and smile and remember how much silly fun we had doing it.

Right Place For This?

I've been learning so much lately (which I can tell you feels fabulous.  I haven't made time for really studying ANYTHING in a long while.) and I just really want to share.  So here you go.  I love this.  The last sentence especially struck me.

President Henry B. Eyring said in October of 2010, speaking of God, "You show your trust in Him when you listen with the intent to learn and repent and then you go and do whatever He asks.  If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every sermon, song, and prayer in this conference (I would add church meeting/personal study time), you will find it.  And then if you go and do what he would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you.

I, of course, have added the italics.

Love you all.  Goodnight. 

You didn't!

Oh Yes, YOU DID.
(her hair is so light you can't really tell how much there is.)

Luckily it just kind of gave her a layered look.

And the boys are home early from school today. It's Christmas Break! They enjoyed their Christmas parties and at Jake's they had a "Deck the halls" card exchange and he got POKEMON!!! All the rage at the school right now. (Isn't this a few years behind the fad?)
Anyway, Millie is so happy to have her big brothers home for the afternoon, happy to play the game with them (Jake keeps coming up to me and whispering that he is going easy on her), and even Emma - the little girl I watch now is enthralled with the action.

They both got straight A's. Jake studied for hours for all his final exams. It was tough. I am so proud of him for doing hard things. He says he plans on getting a $30,000 scholarship for college, so here we go! Off to a good start, buddy!

The Power of Scripture

"Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high."


Isn't that a great blessing!  So exciting!  I am always seeking to better understand what is going on in my life.

Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles also stated,

"Our Father in Heaven understood that for us to make desired progress during our mortal probation, we would need to face difficult challenges.  Some of these would be almost overpowering.  He provided tools to help us be successful in our mortal probation.  One set of those tools is the scriptures.

Throughout the ages, Father in Heaven has inspired select men and women to find, through the guidance of the Holy Ghost, solutions to life's most perplexing problems.  He has inspired those authorized servants to record those solutions as a type of handbook for those of His children who have faith in His plan of happiness and in His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.  We have ready access to this guidance through the treasure we call the standard works-that is, the Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price."

 I am so grateful for all the resources I have and for the sure knowledge I have of where I came from, why I am here, and where I am going.  I understand why I have trials, and I understand where to get the strength to bear them up.  Not only bear them, but like I was telling my brother yesterday, to sometimes receive the blessing of having some trials not even feel like a burden anymore.  When I yoke myself with the Lord he can bring me comfort and cheer - despite an outwardly difficult time.  To really feel cheerful and hopeful in the midst of a trial is a miracle and I am so grateful to my Creator for granting it unto me.  

He is my strength.

Little Lady

I love this girl. So very much. Tonight she went to bed only after separating her hair into three sections, putting pig tails with bows in the front and asking me to braid the third section down her back. Okayyyy.....

Her thing for the past month or so is surprises. Everything (pencils, forks, stuffed animals, shoes......)gets wrapped in a scarf or blanket or slippy and then brought to me. I have to make three guesses and then she tells me, "Just close your eyes." She motions with both hands in kind of a downward waving motion when she tells me this. Then she unwraps her surprise and says "OPEN!" She also does this every time she washes her hands. Before she comes out of the bathroom she calls to me to shut my eyes and then runs out and shows me her hands and tells me to smell them.

She loves brushing her hair "straight," and eating "buttoed bwead - NOT toasted, mom" (buttered bread) or yogurt with blackberries or strawberries for every meal.

She makes up songs all.the.time. She sings wherever she is, or just talks out loud in her make believe land. She dresses up like Sleeping Beauty, Belle, a ninja, a horse, a ballerina, or a cowgirl. Maybe all in the same day. She practices Ninja moves and ballerina dances often in the front room and constantly asks me, "Can you do this, Mom?" "It's vewy hawd." "Isn't it amazing!?"
Yes, Amelia, you are amazing. (: